


Fighter

by lelevex



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: (for a little bit), Alternate Universe - High School, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hypothermia, M/M, Not Beta Read, inspired by a documentary, sad hours, ski trip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:22:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lelevex/pseuds/lelevex
Summary: In which the ice breaks, just not in the way you’d expect.
Relationships: Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Fighter

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired because I was watching the “Frozen Worlds” episode of Our Planet and just got really sad.
> 
> Kinda rushed towards the end but I still wanted to post it :>
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated~
> 
> \- Lele

They're on a school trip, skiing in the mountains of a place Eiji can't remember the name of. He's not meant to be there, really, but he'd been asked to help chaperone in place of a couple teachers and he took the chance with eager hands. 

The air bites at his skin as he steps outside, winds wrapping around him in a wintery embrace. Everyone else is coddled up inside, enjoying the warmth of the fire place and the heating of the lodge. He wraps his arms around his jumper, he probably should've grabbed a coat before heading out but he had been busy. He's looking for someone, Ash, specifically as he'd disappeared somewhere after dinner had ended and everyone dispersed into the many rooms the lodge had to offer. 

Eiji watches the snow fall as each step he takes leads to a pillow of white frost exploding in the air. Under the light of the moon he is almost positive that the snow _shines_.

He's by the back of the lodge, figuring that Ash would prefer some alone time instead of playing uno with everyone else and there's a little path that slopes down into the dark woods just off to the right. His attention is drawn in the opposite direction by bouts of laughing and shouting, and he sees Ibe and Max starting a barbecue on the back patio with a few other students. He shoots them all a small wave before traversing down the woodland path.

Each and every branch of the woods is covered in snow. Pillows of snow pile up on branches and trees, disappearing into clouds of white magic when he knocks them aside. The snow on the ground has thawed from the constant usage of the path, but puddles of melted snow has made the path muddy and he can see the reflection of the select few icy patches that have yet to thaw out. There are tree roots hidden beneath wet leaves and so Eiji has to watch his step on the way down.

The path divides off into two when he reaches the bottom, one lane leading to a frozen over lake and the other meandering somewhere else to the right. He doesn't pay attention to the second path though, because his target is right in front of him.

The pond is completely exposed to the sky, the trees parting as they let the starlight reign down on the frozen surface. Instead, trees adorn the sides of the pond, roots grappling at the earth and some even arching over the pond. Maybe in the summertime the pond is water, and the roots traverse beneath the waves like mermaids. Maybe in summertime there will be flowers surrounding the lake as well.

Ash stands in front of him, face tilted towards the sky and shaded by a black spruce tree that towers over the rest. Eiji wonders if snow will start falling and the image in front of him cascades into a pure winter wonderland.

He walks to the edge of the path, and the noise of squelching leaves garners Ash's attention and his gaze shifts from the sky to Eiji. There are conflicting emotions in his eyes and Eiji takes one step closer.

"Shorter was looking for you," he says. He steps forwards onto the ice, holding onto a nearby tree branch for anchorage. It takes a second for Ash to reply, and Eiji can see the hesitation run across Ash's face.

"What did he want?" Ash settles on, brushing a stray hair out of his view. His eyes settle on Eiji. 

"Said he wanted to play beer pong with you? They found a pool table in one of the game rooms," Eiji meets Ash's eyes, and there is something cold residing within them. The pond seems dark around them. A chill creeps up Eiji's spine.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Eiji asks, voice tentative and quiet as he reaches a hand towards Ash. 

"Eiji," Ash says, "do _not_ get on the ice,"

He takes a step backwards. Back onto the wet leaves and hand off the tree branch. Ash almost hisses out the command and something feels very _very_ wrong-

"Ash-"

He hears it before he can finish speaking. Nature is quiet apart from them, and in the silence a quiet crackle can be heard. It last for a second, but he can hear it drumming in his ears. He can hear it getting louder and louder and-

He swears his heart drops in his chest.

There is a second one not too long after. Thin lines atop the ice dance around in a frantic spiral. Slowly, they spread further and further away from the source, a tiny crackle each time a new thread forms.

"Go," Ash says and the words are loud and clear across the frozen water.

And Eiji nods but his feet are stuck to the ground.

"I love you," Ash says and his eyes are full of determination. Eiji knows what he wants.

"I know," Eiji says as tears threaten to fall from his eyes, "I love you so fucking much,"

Then he turns and runs up the path.

He hears the fall before he sees it, stumbling down the path with Ibe and Max in tow. He trips over tree roots in he avoided so carefully before because all he can hear is a crack and a yell and splashing. It's a desperate cry of _"Eiji!"_ that tears at his heart and wrenches him apart. He doesn't know when the path became so long and he slips on a leftover ice sheet right they reach the bottom. It causes him to stumble dangerously close to the water but someone holds him back. His ankle burns but he can see Ash's golden hair bobbing in the lake and suddenly he's screaming and yelling and Ibe won't let him dive into the lake to save his beloved. Somehow, he's on the ground and his ankle hurts too much for him to stand up again.

Max is on the phone with a 911 operator and Ibe dives in to save Ash instead. They both emerge less than a minute later but Ash is shivering and Eiji crawls towards him because his ankle is burning harder than it was before. 

He cradles Ash into his chest and the coldness of his skin throws Eiji off. He whispers against Ash's ears, at some point he starts crying but he cradles Ash closer even though his own clothes are starting to become cold and wet and Ash's hair is sticking to his skin.

"I'm tired," Ash murmurs. Eiji can see his eyelids dropping and suddenly panic courses through his blood.

"Ash you have to stay awake for me," he brings Ash's face away from his chest and grips his shoulders tightly. When he sees Ash's eyes flutter closed he almost yells, "Aslan fucking Callenreese do not die on me!"

The desperation is raw and hollow on his voice but it does little to dissuade Ash's consciousness.

"I love you," Ash mutters again, and Eiji hates it because it sounds like he's trying to say goodbye.

"I love you so fucking much," Eiji says back and there are tears in his eyes and he can hear the ambulance now so he presses a small kiss to Ash's lips and he swears the other boy smiles. They're going to be okay now. Just a few more minutes and it's going to be alright-

Until Ash suddenly falls limp in his arms and Eiji lets out a strangled cry as he yells at Ash to wake up again. 

The paramedics pries Ash from Eiji's hands and he's screaming and yelling as his beloved is carted away like a body on its way to the morgue. He tries to stand up and them but his ankle just _snaps_ under his weight. He hobbles forward until someone pulls him back and he tries to break free of the grip.

 _"Eiji! Trust the doctors. Ash is going to be safe now,"_ the words are harsh and scolding but they give Eiji a moment to breathe, Japanese circling around him in familiar rhythms. He registers the fact that Ibe was holding him back and that the ambulance is already rushed to the hospital. Taking deep breaths, he feels Ibe's grip loosen and he lets his uncle escort him back up the path.

Yut-Lung and Sing and more unimportant faces wait for them at the top, and the pair hold out a blanket and some hot chocolate to Eiji who only then realises that his front is soaked through. 

"Shorter's gone to fetch the doctor," Sing says as they usher Eiji inside. "They saved a paramedic for you as well,"

Eiji just nods, and it takes him some time to recover from the shock. As the doctor works his way around his ankle Eiji is barely listening, and the pain from the joint seeps in slowly. He faintly remembers being told that he'll need a cast for a couple of weeks and because of previous injury physical therapy may also be required. He listens but his mind is elsewhere, behind hospital doors and ambulance sirens. The hot chocolate warms his fingers.

He visits Ash everyday he can. His own problems prevent him from visiting the first few days (much to his own disappointment) but Shorter reports that Ash had slipped into a coma shortly after being admitted.

Ash misses the first pieces of snowfall as he sleeps and Eiji wonders if the hospital room is cold at night.

It's warm, as Eiji watches him now: the gentle rise of his chest, and the warmth of his fingers have returned. That alone makes Eiji breathe a sigh of relief, and he gently takes Ash's hand in his. They sit in silence as the day turns over into the night and for the next few weeks that's all they do.

The school trip ends with little fanfare. Eiji is excused from chaperoning and the teachers collaborate on how to break the news to the rest of the students. They end up telling the truth, because high schoolers are much smarter than adults give them credit for and people were bound to notice Ash was missing after a while. It works, and the back entrance of the lodge is closed off until they leave. The school hushes the incident when they arrive and only minor news outlets cover the story. It is refreshing, to not see their faces in the news again.

Ash gets transferred to a hospital in New York soon after they land and this time Eiji is the first one who visits him. He's the one who visits the most, and soon the nurses recognise his face.

Most of the time Eiji seldom leaves his room. School and hospital visits are the only exception, and even then he's only present half of the time. The sound of running water scares him sometimes, and more often than not Yut-Lung has to drag him out of his own head. After the third time ends with him in the nurses office, he's officially excused from school until further notice. It only gives him more time to spend at the hospital.

Sometimes, he hears his sister joke about how he's like a ghost drifting around the house. Trays of food are left outside his door for him and the thought of it makes him smile. Being at home is nice because Ibe understands and he doesn't poke around in Eiji's business. Not too much, anyway, because the therapy sessions increase as time draws on and Eiji knows why.

He doesn't want to talk about it. The cracking of the ice, the yell, the splashes, the cold cold cold cold _cold_ skin of Ash pressed against his own. That last unspoken plea of goodbye and the confession that died on the tips of his tongue. The way Ash fell, slumped against his chest like someone who had just stopped breathing-

But he knows that he has too. So he does. Because his stubbornness to prove to Ash that therapy is works helps him talk about it. It gets easier, after the first few sessions and soon the sound of running water doesn't send him into a panic.

When he next visits Ash he's not alone. Max is there when Eiji enters the room and he takes one look at the boy before placing a hand on his shoulder. Ash is breathing steadily on the bed, his chest rising and falling in even beats.

"Don't worry Eiji," Max says, "he's a fighter, he'll pull through,"

And Eiji sure as hell hopes so.

It's during one checkup-turned-visit when it happens. Eiji is stationed by Ash's side, having just finished telling the other about his day: it was uneventful, apart from when Sing put a fake cricket in Yut-Lung's water bottle and the latter all but screamed and threw the bottle across the room, needless to say Shorter has a new favourite video and Yut-Lung is down a water bottle. Schoolwork piles up on the table next to the bed as he had been keeping track of everything Ash needs to catch up on. He's confident that Ash can manage it, being the genius he is after all.

His hand is firmly clasped in Ash's and he squeezes it gently. He'd overheard doctors talking about Ash's diagnosis: mild hypothermia and wonders if Ash was going to wake up. Instead of dwelling on the thought his eyes are drawn towards their joined hands, he brings Ash's hand to his lips are kisses his knuckles softly. The hand is warm against his own.

When he looks up his eyes catch the colour of jade and his heart catches in his throat.

Eyelids flutter open as confused jade eyes stare back at him. Eiji stops for a second before letting Ash go and rushing to find a nurse. He's shunned from the room while they do routine check ups on Ash and it's a while before he's let back inside. The waiting gives him time to sort out the fluttering in his chest, and the excitement buzzing all around him.

Ash is awake. 

He's awake and he's here and they're gonna be okay again.

When he goes back inside Ash is there and he awake and looking at Eiji like he’s hung all the stars in the sky just for him. Thousands of words trip and stumble over themselves as each fight their way out, fight for the right to be spoken.

He settles on “hi,” and restrains himself until the nurses are out of the room before holding Ash close again.

“Hello to you too,” Ash replies, his voice akin to a broken record as he tries to speak. 

When he pulls back Ash shoots him a tired smile and he pulls the chair closer to the bed. He holds his hand up to Ash's cheek and brushes a stray hair away from his face, a soothing thumb caresses his cheekbones in a way that entices him to rest. Ash falls asleep with his cheek nestled against Eiji's hand. It’s warm.

Soon, Eiji draws his hand away and gets out his phone. He calls Max first, and then Ibe, and Shorter and Sing and Yut-Lung follow after. He's crying by the end of it but it's okay. 

Max was right, after all, Ash was a fighter.

**Author's Note:**

> lowkey don’t even ask me why Ash was on the ice in the first place cause I have no idea


End file.
